


Sweet Relief

by badly_knitted



Category: FAKE (Manga)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Music, Christmas Presents, Christmas Shopping, Ficlet, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:08:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21989302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badly_knitted/pseuds/badly_knitted
Summary: Trying to get his Christmas shopping done, Dee is rapidly being driven mad by the canned Christmas music in all the stores.
Relationships: Dee Laytner/Randy "Ryo" MacLean
Kudos: 1





	Sweet Relief

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Prompt 119: Annoying at anythingdrabble.
> 
> **Setting:** After the manga.

The tinny piped music in all the shops was annoying enough at the best of times, but around Christmas it was worse than ever. It might not have been so bad if the stores had been playing the original versions of popular Christmas songs, but they weren’t; everything was inferior copies by no-name ‘artists’, half of whom couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. If it was supposed to put shoppers in a festive mood and encourage them to spend more money, it wasn’t working, not on Dee anyway. The too-loud canned excuse for seasonal music just made him want to leave the store without buying anything, which was bad since he was supposed to be doing his Christmas shopping.

By rights he should have gotten it all done weeks ago, when the first Christmas decorations and boxes of cards had begun to appear in shops and the tacky seasonal displays had starting filling windows with garish color, every business trying to outdo its neighbour at grabbing the attention of folks with money to spend. He was a detective in serious crimes though, and the bad guys didn’t stop plying their trade for the holiday season; if anything, they upped their game, taking advantage of the crowds to separate decent people from their hard-earned dollars, expensive jewellery, and in some cases, their lives.

The weather hadn’t helped either; heavy rains causing flooding throughout most of November, turning to blizzards before they were a week into December.

So here he was, five days before Christmas, in a mad dash to find gifts for Ryo, Mother, Macey, and a couple of other people. At least he didn’t have to worry about getting anything for Bikky or Carol; they both preferred cash.

Mother was easy enough to buy for; comfy slippers, a selection of quality tea blends, and a boxed set of Fred Astaire movies on DVD. Macy would love the studded leather wrist cuffs and matching belt, and a really good bottle of wine, while a bottle of whiskey would keep his landlord happy. He’d gotten chocolates and cookies for the guys at work, couldn’t really go wrong with those, but Ryo was proving harder to buy for.

Might have been easier if Dee hadn’t been getting a headache from the damned music! How was anyone supposed to concentrate with the store’s sound system blaring out the same five songs over and over? He pitied the sales people; they couldn’t just walk out when it got too much. Hell, he’d been in here no more than twenty minutes and already his nerves were shredded. Having to endure that onslaught for several hours while dealing with bad-tempered shoppers would be sheer hell.

Rounding the end of a display, Dee spotted something and he actually smiled; just what he needed! Heading for the checkout he paid for his purchase and jammed the earplugs in his ears, the loud noises fading to a distant murmur. 

Bliss! Now maybe he could finish his shopping in peace.

The End


End file.
